Kingdom Hearts: The Fabled War
by TravisSykes
Summary: Long before our time, in the land of fairy tales, a war waged on for the the ultimate power; Kingdom Hearts. The forces of light and dark were only two sides of the fight and this story introduces the Militia, an organization of troops paid for their services. See the events of the Keyblade War through the eyes of a young man named Travis and watch the true events unfold.
1. Prologue

_Long before our time, in the land of fairy tales, were countless worlds of all different kinds. Each had their own unique set of customs and people and all worlds intermingled with each other, mixing and creating new ways of life every day. These worlds were connected by pathways of pure light which protected travelers on their journeys towards other worlds. Some sought new prospects and some wanted adventure. These worlds pleased all in their search, every form of life accepting of another. Many called it a paradise, but for those who lived in this time, it was simply life; no more, no less._

_ Preserving these ways of life and pathways was a single entity known commonly as Kingdom Hearts, or the Heart of All Worlds. Many say it was a light so bright, that no darkness could live and no evil would ever corrupt its' mighty luminescence. However, for the sake of protection, Kingdom Hearts had a counterpart. While Kingdom Hearts was the ultimate light and the greatest protector of good, the weapon of great destruction, the final judgment, the X-Blade, existed to maintain order in the event that a darkness arose that had the power to withstand the light. This was a mistake._

_ Stories had been told throughout all worlds that whoever shall come upon Kingdom Hearts' light and wield the destructive X-Blade, they shall gain true power and be a God amongst all worlds and all their creatures. Some dismissed these as tall tales, but those who believed these words began to change. The lust for power was too strong in them and their newfound greed tempted them to make weapons in the image of the X-Blade; Keyblades. _

_ On the day of the great Festival of Purity in the prosperous kingdom of Tener, this group struck and claimed countless lives, taking everyone by surprise and claiming the kingdom as their own, renaming it Tenebrae. The darkness was strong in these individuals and it began claiming others, leading to conquests and the destruction of many worlds. One king decided to take action, believing that Kingdom Hearts had abandoned their cries for help, and amassed an army of his own, defenders of light. They wielded their own Keyblades, forging them with magic and purity rather than with force and corruption._

_ The two entities fought, their paths of war leaving trails of death behind them, until they met for one final battle under the light of Kingdom Hearts. The war waged on, baiting the X-Blade into plain sight and forcing it to take action against both the forces of light and darkness alike. They rebelled against it, fought it, and all who had done so had lost their lives. The field of war had been littered with the Keyblades of countless fallen warriors, a remaining testament to the scale of the losses. The conflict had shattered the X-Blade into twenty pieces and scattered them throughout the cosmos and had submerged the Heart of All Worlds into an abyss of darkness, expecting to never see the light of day again. _

_ The tale of this war states that the last remaining light in the Hearts of children brought the powerful protector back from the depths, only to have it destroy the pathways it had once created in hopes of keeping the worlds safe and stifling any further conflict as massive as the war. Now, all worlds live separated, their Hearts beckoning a return to peace, but never being answered. _

_ All the result of the fabled battle; The Keyblade War._

A soft afternoon breeze rolled through the gardens, a smell of flowers and freshly trimmed flora swirling in the air. The songs of birds perched upon branches filled the air as the chattering of people below went on and on; a great symphony of conversation. This was a popular place for the denizens of this world and for good reason; it was beautiful and calm, especially on days where no clouds lingered in the sky, allowing the sun to hit the entirety of the small paradise of the gardens. Amongst all the cheerful population, on a small patio of a white house that overlooked the gardens, sat a grandmother and her granddaughter.

"Grandma, is that how the story really ends," the child asked her elder with sadness in her voice. The old woman nodded and cleared her throat to speak. "I'm afraid so, dear. Not every story is a happy one. Our lives are ever changing and if we remember that, we'll never be caught off guard." The young girl pouted in thought, not completely understanding of her grandmother's wisdom, but this brought a smile to the woman's aged face. Although young, her kin may remember that fact for the rest of her life and may one day understand it. For now, though, the girl seemed to want more. She wanted a better story.

"Mmm, grandma… Is there any more to the story? Are there any happy parts? I like those types of stories." The aging woman thought for a moment, her eyes looking at the sky above, and then nodded. "Oh, why yes, my love. There is much, much more to that story than most people know, but you're far too young to understand it all. Besides, it would take all day to tell it!" The child's eyes widened with wonder at the thought of a long story with a happy ending. "Grandma," the child sternly spoke with a demanding tone, "You have to tell the story! If you don't, then I'll just… not visit you!" The elder chuckled at the thought of her own granddaughter commanding things from her; what a sight to behold for children to do such things to the elderly.

If she were an unmerciful woman with blood of vinegar, she would tell her to leave now, but she decided to play along and humor her kin. "Oh, I suppose you've won. Sit down, now. We have much to go over." The older woman patted the seat next to her own and the girl, with renewed vigor and happiness evident by her wide smile, climbed up to the seat and stared intently at her grandmother, awaiting the story of her life. "Mmmhm. Yes, I believe I know where to begin with this. Ahem!"

_The tale of war between the forces of light and dark was only a snippet of the true legend of the Keyblade War. For, you see, there stood yet another force in the fog of war, its motives shrouded and secret even to its own members. This group strong enough to face the great powers of the cosmos was known as the Militia; simple, but the name was known and they were feared by the other warring forces as warriors who stood for nothing, yet fought as if everything was on the line. _

_ From all of the destruction and carnage, there stood one young man who had the heart and strength to stand up and fight against the needless bloodshed. He influenced many to his cause, for he believed that if he struck at the core of the problem, then both forces could come to their senses and end the fighting on their own accord, with little force. This young man rose from the bottom of the ranks and displayed courage and skill in the face of all adversity. He gripped the blade of destiny and sought peace through reason. He was a beacon of hope for those who hadn't a thought of what the good fight was. _

_ His name was known, his name was inspiration, and it was valor, life…_

_ His name was…_

"Travis!" The bold voice of his father echoed through the inner chambers of his mind; it was a voice he had come to know meant irritation and the coming of discipline. He must have fallen asleep again; the third time now, and three times was enough to set his father into a speech on self-discipline and strength of mind. "I'm sorry, dad, I just-." He tried to explain why he had dozed off, but as a father, more importantly a leader, excuses were of no use and he was cut off. "How many times have I told you about this!? I'm tired of lecturing you, Travis. You've been this way since you went to school. You need to find a way to remain awake during your lessons. If you can't even do that, then how could you possibly imagine keeping guard on a headquarters for twenty-four hours or more?"

It wasn't any use to argue, because as a lowly private and a son to a father and a leader, he was always wrong; doubly wrong, at all times. All he could do was lower his head in shame, averting his eyes to avoid contact with the burning glare he had grown up to know. "I'm sorry, dad… I'm trying, I really am… I'll do my best to stay awake this time." "You best! Otherwise, I'll have you find out that being my son does not grant you any special privileges above any other individual here."

_I never said he started as a courageous, inspirational soldier…_

**Kingdom Hearts: The Fabled War**

**Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 1

The sound of sharpened steel cutting through the fibers of dummy targets overpowered any talking in the distance, so there wasn't anything to distract the young soldier from paying attention to his father's instruction. Travis had been in a purgatory-esque life of training for the past month as his father attempted to fine tune the skills the teen had been taught in initial training, but nothing seemed to stick with him as he constantly nodded in and out of the waking world. Something about the new environment and actually being in the true Militia, not just training for it, forced his attention towards other things, like his future and how long this war would take and if he would ever be a strong, respected soldier. "Now, son, watch closely to my stance with this attack. You'll want to be about ten degrees off on other side of your opponent's front. See my feet? They're firmly planted, yet not flat. That's the key."

_Ugh, _Travis began thinking to himself, _When will this be over? We've been in here for hours! I don't think I can take this any longer!_ "Travis! I swear if you're falling asleep again, I'll have you hanging over a fence by your fingers!" "Huh? Oh, no! I was paying attention, dad! I swear!" If the room had been any quieter, people might have given the two a curious glance, but it was a busy day in the training area and bickering was the least of anyone's worries. "Oh, really now? Come up and show me what I just demonstrated!" _Ah, dammit… _He was in some deep shit now. He could only vaguely remember what his father had been doing for the past ten minutes, but if he didn't at least give it a shot, he was going to be found out.

With a deep sigh, the young soldier stood up from his seat and rolled his shoulders back twice to warm himself up. His father extended his arm to offer his son a simple short sword from the armory. It was a mass-produced, mediocre blade commonly distributed to those who held prowess in melee combat rather than magic. Travis reached for it and was startled when his father snapped his arm back, the blade retreating from his grasp. "You should know the proper way to accept a weapon from someone, Travis. This is something I taught you before you even joined." _Oh, that's right, _he remembered, _Ask permission, hilt first, then gratitude. AHG: Always Have Gratitude._

He composed his thoughts before beginning, "Sir, may I receive this weapon?" His father looked as if he were in deep thought, chin tilted upwards and eyes squinted. After a moment, he nodded to himself and flipped the sword, catching it by the blade and giving the hilt to his son. Travis bowed slightly and received his equipment, almost forgetting to thank his father. "Uh, hm… Thank you, sir." His father seemed less than impressed, but allowed his son to take the weapon for the sake of training and stepped away from the dummy, beckoning his son to take charge with a hand gesture. "Go on, son. Show me what you've learned." _Alright then. I'll do this, show him some type of proficiency in this, and then hopefully be let go for the day._

Gripping the tough leather wrapping the hilt, Travis closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to get into the right mindset. He tightened his grip, nodded, and then tried remembering the things his father had just said. _Okay, something about… ten degrees? I'll just step this way!_ With quickness, Travis stepped to the right and leaned forward into his attack, eyes on center-mass. He exploded through, dashing forward and turning his body to the right with all his strength put behind this attack. The blade came up, hitting the wooden dummy and sending a loud, echoing smack throughout the whole room.

_Ha! I did great! I want to go in for another hit, just for effect! Ha h… _He jerked back and was stopped suddenly, a dumbfounded look replacing the one of confidence he once proudly displayed. The sword wouldn't budge, no matter how hard he tried pulling back; no amount of strength could expel the sword from the dummy. "Paying attention… right… If you had 'paid attention' like you said you were, you would have known that this isn't an attack of pure strength." Travis let go of the blade as his father came to his side and, without so much as grunting slightly, pulled the blade from the poor victim. "It's about hitting at an angle to where you can cut deep, but follow through. If you can't follow through, it's like throwing a wet potato at a brick wall. You haven't learned a single thing today; like always."

Travis cast his gaze to the ground with crushed spirit, "I'm sor-," "No, I don't want to hear it. I've had enough of you not listening to me. I told you I wasn't going to treat you with any bias, so go to your room and pack your bag for two nights of duty. I'll give you your orders in an hour." "W-wait, dad! Hold on, I'l-," "No!" The objection bellowed through the room and, this time, it caught everyone's attention. The operations ceased almost at an instant, the two soldiers catching the stares and curiosity of their peers. "You will do as I say, do you understand me!? I won't have you talking back to me like some common private!" A silence hung over the area and Travis began to turn a shade of red from the embarrassment.

"… Yes, sir." He didn't have anything else to say and he quickly made his way to the exit, eyes cast down in shame. Whispering and muffled laughter filled his burning ears as he fumbled for the doorknob to the inner building. He tried not to give it any thought and threw the door open, feeling the piercing gaze of his father's aging blue eyes against the back of his head. The door shut and, with haste, the disgraced soldier made his way down the hallways of the base, hands shaking and breaths drawn out to attempt to calm him down. He pushed aside a number of other soldiers on his beeline towards the end of the hallway, gathering even more wondering stares. He needed out, desperately, from the open; he needed his room and the solitude it provided.

He came upon his door, a metal panel with a knob and a keyhole near the center, as well as a name plate and room number centered at the top, about four inches from the threshold. The sight never gave him more joy as he shoved his trembling hands into his pockets to find his key, taking hold of the cold metal and jamming it into the keyhole, unlocking it with a swift turn and pushing inside to his dark room. The door slammed behind him and he fell to the ground, alone in the darkness of his room, the only visible light coming from under his door. He sat against his bed, eyes to the ceiling, as he tried calming his breathing, playing through the ordeal in his head again and again.

_How did I let it come to this? I can't believe I fell asleep again. If I had just stayed awake for a moment a longer and paid attention to his instructions, I could have avoided this. I'm a disappointment, I can tell it in his tone, the way he sighs whenever he talks to me. I'm just the worst. _In the darkness, Travis continued to think to himself of all the times he was a disappointment, all the embarrassing moments he had ever experienced, even the ones not associated with his father. All of these feelings came rushing through and he couldn't take it. He slumped down and hit the ceramic floor, eyes wide open and beginning to redden. He screwed up, but what was he getting worked up for?

He had done this many times before and his father had always punished him and they made up by having a talk and then it would all repeat; a never-ending cycle of disappointment. He felt as if he were overreacting at this point, but was he? What if this was the final straw with his father? What if he would never be able to redeem himself? What if the cycle didn't come back around and his father never let this down? He could be sent back home, shunned by his town for having failed, or worse; he could end up dead on the battlefield, never having accomplished anything with his life, just another corpse on the battlefield already littered by his fallen brothers and sisters.

He closed his eyes, his thoughts being drowned out by others of a better nature. Open fields and clouds covering the sun so there was light, but not to the extent of blinding. He thought of the sound of waves on the beach as they softly brushed across the shore, leaving a mark that disappeared as soon as it came into existence. He could swear he smelled the salty breeze as it came across the ocean and onto land. The young soldier began to calm down, his heart's pace slowing down and his breaths returning to normal; even his face began to stop burning. This was his way of easing inner troubles and it was an effective method.

He opened his eyes, finally adjusted to the darkness, and sat himself up. He reached under his bed and pulled on a strap, sliding a bag out and tossing it onto his bed. Travis stood from the floor, feeling a moment of light headedness, but not reacting to it. He simply came towards the footlocker at the foot of his bed and opened it, looking for his sets of clothes and other necessities for two days of work. He grabbed shirts, pants, socks, personal health items, and a piece of folded up paper, shoving it all into his bag save for the parchment, which he opened.

It was a drawing of a house and two children playing outside of it, his name over one child's head and his sister's over the other. He had been given this many years before and he kept it either on his person or safely in his room. It was just a little reminder that he still had a home somewhere else and a reminder of the reasons he joined this organization in the first place. He wanted to protect his family, his friends… he wanted to make his father proud. He folded the paper back up and slid it into his pocket, returning to his packing. He finished and zipped it up, tossing it to the ground and threw himself onto his bed, hoping to catch a wink of sleep before his father came with orders.

Who knew what he would be doing, but why would he care? He didn't have much of a choice but to do what he was told and no amount of complaining would change that. Shutting his eyes, he thought of that calm little beach, where the trees rustled with the coming of wind and the worries melted away with the sun's heat.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Huh!? Oh, geez… I must have forgotten to set an alarm. Hold on!" A loud knocking came from the other side of the room and Travis could see that it was shaking a little from the force. It had to be his father; no one else really knows about his existence here in the Militia, he's just another face in the halls. It was a shame, for sure, seeing as he wanted to make some friends here, but it had only been a month since his arrival to this station, so he assumed it was because he wasn't seen enough. Maybe if he would be good at something other than falling asleep during training, he would make an impression on someone. _Oh well, I suppose. I'll just try not to be such a shit bag anymore._ It was easier said than done.

The soldier leaned forward and felt for his bag, gripping tightly to the straps and sliding out of bed in a single and swift movement. He gave a good yawn as he stretched, then went for the door handle, turning it and pulling back to see who was knocking. _Wait, if it's my dad, I can apologize! Alright, here goes! _Without giving it a second thought, he began, "Look, dad, I'm really sorry abo-," "Woah, hold down there, private! I've been around the block once or twice, but I'm sure I don't have any kin of my own just yet. Hahaha!" It wasn't his father. Why would it have been; he has much more important things to do than to hand his son the orders on his own.

"O-oh. My apologies! I'm assuming you're here because-," "Sgt. Orion sent me to deliver these orders to you. He said to be down at the trans room in about fifteen minutes. Got everything packed?" Travis stood in his open doorway, flipping through the pages of the shoddily stapled papers detailing his station and duties for the duration of the time there. He was being sent to some place called Sleepy Hollow and was given guard duty at an outpost. "Hey, kid, you listening?" The young soldier's head jolted up from the papers and he responded quickly and frantically. "Huh!? Oh, wha- yeah. I'm listening." "Hm. Well, alright. If you've got it all packed up, let's get walking." The two began down the hall, the door shutting slowly behind Travis as he began turning the pages once again. "Uh, hey. You have any questions?"

"Yeah, I sorta do. It's this place, Sleepy Hollow? I've never been anywhere other than at HQ, so I'm not sure what to expect." The man contorted his face slightly in thought, nodding and giving 'uh-huhs' to confirm his own ideas. "Yeah, that old outpost on the outskirts of the town, that's right. You'll be in the forest and, with any 'luck', you'll be stuck with Jep. That's just about the worst place to be; stuck with a jack hole in a boring place like that. That sergeant is an ass." Travis's dread began to grow with every word spoken to him; dad was really serious about this punishment. The silence between the two grew thicker and it seemed the man wasn't really much a fan of awkward quietness. "So, hey… you're new around here and I know how tough it is to be the newbie, so if you ever need anything, my name's Reiner. Sergeant Reiner."

"Oh, thanks. I appreciate it, sergeant. My name's Travis Sykes, if you didn't already know." "Woooaah! You're Sykes's son? Shit, man, hey… About that whole 'he's an ass' thing? I didn't mean it for real." Travis laughed at Reiner's obvious pleading. Maybe more people were scared of him than he thought. "No worries. I agree with you." "Ah, I guess you two had a falling out?" "Mmm," the soldier's eyes squinted slightly and his expression changed from thankful joy to dreadful reminiscence, "Sounds about right, yeah." The two had finally arrived at the door leading to the Trans room, Trans being a simple way to say transportation that even high ranking officials began using. The door was huge and split down the middle, a large, circular locking mechanism in the middle in place to act as a safe guard, lest any creatures from other worlds or delinquents find their way through.

"Well, this is where I leave you, guy. Enjoy yourself!" Reiner waved as he turned around to backtrack to the hall he needed to go down. "Thanks! I'll see you when I return, I guess." Reiner stopped in his tracks, as if he had something he wanted to say to the young man behind him. "H-hey! Whenever you get back, come find me. I'll let you meet some other privates. I think you would all be good friends… So, take care out there, alright!?" A smile grew on Travis's face and he let out a good chuckle. "I'll keep you to that, Sergeant! I'll do my best to keep safe!" With that, both soldiers turned back and continued on their ways. The doors creaked open, the mechanisms to open and close them obviously straining against the weight of the steel doors.

The atmosphere changed immediately from calm to rushed and busy as soon as Travis stepped through the doors, contracted workers and soldiers alike running around to get things done. He actually felt out of place and in the way by just entering the area, but he had a job to do, and he was going to get it done with. The sooner he got clearance for travel, the sooner he would be out of this odd place. Honestly, it must be a normal, everyday occurrence for these people, but this was his second time being here; once for orientation and the second time being now. All he remembered was where the offices were and he thought about bee-lining it to them, but there was so much going on, like minor construction and other groups of soldiers getting ready for their own duties in other worlds.

It seemed someone had noticed his expression of helplessness and had rushed over. "Hey, hey, kid, private, look here! Where do you need to be?" "Uh, what? Oh, uhm, I need to go to the clearance offices to get authorization." Travis fumbled with his papers and words all the same, making the exchange typical of what other privates in his same position would have been like. The man was in a mask with black goggles that couldn't be seen through, so his expression was completely unknown. Whether or not he was judging the confused young man or not was up in the air, but there's a good bet that he was being judged… harshly. "What? Clearance and authori- just, look, man, where ya goin'? I can help! Hurry!" "Ahh, Sleepy Hollow, here are my papers!" The masked contractor took the papers flicked through the pages at blinding speeds. With a flick of his finger, a pen came out and he began to sign off where it was needed.

With force, the papers were thrown back at him and he was being pushed to his portal. "Look kid, no authorization office, screw that, not needed, ask us, same authority, that portal, go now, good job, have fun!" "W-woah! Hold up, I'm no- ahhh!" A single shove was all it took for the soldier to be sucked into a purple portal, a doorway of magic through many miles, sending him on his way. These things took no more than a few seconds, but sometimes the way you went into one determined how you came out of the aether. "-hhh! Gah! Shit!" about five feet in sky was where Travis had appeared and nothing was there to help his fall, so in an instant, he fell to the ground with a loud thump.

"Aw, man… never again. I don't think I can take any more of that. I'll go straight to the office instead next time." Slowly and painfully, Travis stood from the ground, brushing himself off as he did. He examined the new environment for changes; something his father had told him was incredibly useful for someone of his duty. The whole world seemed more… gray? He couldn't really tell what he meant by that, but his vision had become slightly more bland, with all colors seeming washed out and old. Even his clothes seemed more worn out than before, but he noticed more; the whole place was covered in a thick blanket of fog. "Well, this seems like an exciting get-away from HQ. Now, to find out where I'm supposed to be…"

No more than a few seconds in did the distant shadow of a building catch his eyes. He was getting attuned to the simple and washed out look everything had, but he still didn't like it. His footsteps must have hit every twig and patch of leaves on his way there, because as soon as the building's simple wooden structure came into plain view, the door opened and a head poked out, looking around for what the noise was caused by. The man was in his late twenties with a head of cropped, orange hair and a face full of freckles. His eyes looked very… criticizing? He thought that was the word to use. The two met each other's gaze, and the red-head's eyes locked on like a hawk. He stepped out of the building and the orange light within, showing his tall height and lanky frame covered in leather armor.

"Hey, you the new kid?" "I'm the new private, Travis Sykes. I'm here to report for duty." An audible sigh escaped the tall fellow and he lazily waved to him to get into the building. _I'm going to have so much fun here, I can tell, _Travis thought as he climbed the few steps leading to the door. As he entered, the door shut behind him and was locked immediately. The redhead sized the young man up, seeming displeased for some reason. "You look like a kid, you walk like a kid, and you talk like a kid; so they sent me someone to babysit, how perfect. Take a seat." Before he could react, the man snatched the papers out of his hands and read them over. Everything in the small building seemed simple; wooden chairs, a table, shelves, a desk, and some lanterns that were all lit.

"Uh, so what do we do he-," "Shh, guy. I'm not in the mood for small talk. Get comfty, 'cause you're gonna be sitting there in silence for a while." Travis huffed as he took a seat, watching the man do his paper work at the desk. "My name is Jep, I'm your peer. Welcome to Sleepy Hollow; you're gonna sleep so much your life will be a hollowed out mess. We sit here and make sure nothing goes down, got it? No small talk, I don't want to hear it. Sit there, and if you hear anything, let me know." "Oh… alright." So, with that, the both of them sat in the room in complete silence. An exhilarating beginning to the next few days he would have to spend here.


End file.
